Magical describes conditions that are outside our understanding of cause and effect. What cannot be attributed to human or natural forces is explained as magic: super-human, super-natural. Even in modern societies, magic-based explanations are powerful because, given the complexity of the universe, there are so many opportunities to use them. The history of medicine is defined by progress in understanding the human body - from magical explanations to measurable results. To continue medical progress, physicians and scientists must openly question traditional models. Valid inquiry demands a willingness to consider all possible solutions without prejudice. Medical politics should not perpetuate unproven assumptions nor curtail reasoned experimentation, unbiased measurement and well-informed analysis. For thirteen years, Medicine Meets Virtual Reality has been an incubator for technologies that create new medical understanding via the simulation, visualization and extension of reality. Researchers create imaginary patients because they offer a more reliable and controllable experience to the novice surgeon. With imaging tools, reality is purposefully distorted to reveal to the clinician what the eye alone cannot see. Robotics and intelligence networks allow the healer’s sight, hearing, touch and judgment to be extended across distance, as if by magic. The moments when scientific truth is suddenly revealed after lengthy observation, experimentation and measurement, is the real magic. These moments are not miraculous, however. They are human ingenuity in progress and they are documented here in this book.

Our culture is obsessed with design. Sometimes designers can fuse utility and fantasy to make the mundane apper fresh- a cosmetic repackaging of the same old thing. Because of this, medicine- grounded in the unforgiving realities of the sscientific method and peer review, and of flesh, blood, and pain- can sometimes cofuse "design" with mere 'prettifying." Design solves real problems, however. This collection of papers underwrites the importance of design for the MMVR community, within three different environments: in vivo, in vitro and in silico. in vivo: we design machines to explore our living bodies. Imaging devices, robots, and sensors move constantly inward, operating within smaller dimensions: system, organ, cell, DNA. in vitro: Using test tubes and Petri dishes, we isolate in vivo to better manipulate and measure biological conditions and reactions. in silico: We step out of the controlled in vitro environment and into a virtual reality. The silica mini-worlds of test tubes and Petri dishes are translated into mini-worlds contained within silicon chips. The future of medicine remains within all three environments: in vivo, in vitro, and in silico. Design is what makes these pieces fit together-the biological, the informational, the physical/material-into something new and more useful.

"Machine intelligence will eclipse human intelligence within the next few decades - extrapolating from Moores Law - and our world will enjoy limitless computational power and ubiquitous data networks. Todays iPod devices portend an era when biology and information technology will fuse to create a human experience radically different from our own. Already, our healthcare system now appears on the verge of crisis; accelerating change is part of the problem. Each technological upgrade demands an investment of education and money, and a costly infrastructure more quickly becomes obsolete. Practitioners can be overloaded with complexity: therapeutic options, outcomes data, procedural coding, drug names etc. Furthermore, an aging global population with a growing sense of entitlement demands that each medical breakthrough be immediately available for its benefit: what appears in the morning paper is expected simultaneously in the doctors office. Meanwhile, a third-party payer system generates conflicting priorities for patient care and stockholder returns. The result is a healthcare system stressed by scientific promise, public expectation, economic and regulatory constraints and human limitations. Change is also proving beneficial, of course. Practitioners are empowered by better imaging methods, more precise robotic tools, greater realism in training simulators, and more powerful intelligence networks. The remarkable accomplishments of the IT industry and the Internet are trickling steadily into healthcare. The Medicine Meets Virtual Reality series can readily see the progress of the past fourteen years: more effective healthcare at a lower overall cost, driven by cheaper and better computers."

This book provides an innovative international forum for the researchers, developers, and practitioners who are actively expanding the role of electronic technologies in healthcare. The contributions are by pioneers in all aspects of the field: telemedicine, simulation, computer-assisted surgery, haptics, robotics, education, diagnostics, etc. Leading edge developments and current clinical experience are brought together for the purpose of exploring ways to improve medical care. Mental health implications of new electronic technologies are also discussed. This book has a special focus on virtual reality as a means of bringing practitioner and patient closer in the pursuit of healing. Rather than superseding the talents of healthcare professionals, interactive computer-based tools have the ability to enhance the traditional dialogue of care. In addition, these tools can be used to integrate useful qualities of complementary therapies into allopathic medicine. Sight, touch, sound and other senses can be linked and augmented in ways previously unimagined, ultimately to benefit the patient.

Building a Better You : the Next Tools for Medical Education, Diagnosis, and Care

Author: James D. Westwood

Publisher: IOS Press

ISBN: 9781586034047

Category: Medical

Page: 428

View: 2412

The Medicine Meets Virtual Reality conference is a leading forum for surgical simulation and its supporting technologies, haptics and modeling. Assessment and validation studies of newly developed simulation tools are presented with the aim of enhancing the traditional medical education curriculum. Robotics, data visualization and fusion, networking, displays and augmented reality, are additionally explored at MMVR as tools to improve clinical diagnosis and therapy. The Proceedings offers medical educators, device developers, and clinicians a wide spectrum of research on data-focused technology utilized in a medical context.

This book presents the proceedings of the 21st NextMed/MMVR conference, held in Manhattan Beach, California, in February 2014. These papers describe recent developments in medical simulation, modeling, visualization, imaging, haptics, robotics, sensors, interfaces, and other IT-enabled technologies that benefit healthcare. The wide range of applications includes simulation for medical education and surgical training, information-guided therapies, mental and physical rehabilitation tools, and intelligence networks. Since 1992, Nextmed/MMVR has engaged the problem-solving abilities of scientists, engineers, clinicians, educators, the military, students, and healthcare futurists. Its multidisciplinary participation offers a fresh perspective on how to make patient care and medical education more precise and effective.

We humans are tribal, grouping ourselves by a multitude of criteria: physical, intellectual, political, emotional, etc. The Internet and its auxiliary technologies have enabled a novel dimension in tribal behavior during our recent past. This growing connectivity begs the question: will individuals and their communities come together to solve some very urgent global problems? At MMVR, we explore ways to harness information technology to solve healthcare problems - and in the industrialized nations we are making progress. In the developing world however, things are more challenging. Massive urban poverty fuels violence and misery. Will global networking bring a convergence of individual and tribal problem-solving? Recently, a barrel-shaped water carrier that rolls along the ground was presented, improving daily life for many people. Also the One Laptop per Child project is a good example of how the industrialized nations can help the developing countries. They produce durable and simple laptops which are inexpensive to produce. At MMVR, we focus on cutting-edge medical technology, which is generally pretty expensive. While the benefits of innovation trickle downward, from the privileged few to the broader masses, we should expand this trickle into a flood. Can breakthrough applications in stimulation, visualization, robotics, and informatics engender tools as ingeniously as the water carrier or laptop? With some extra creativity, we can design better healthcare for the developing world too.

Following up his best-selling Board Stiff TEE & Too manuals for the oral boards in anesthesiology, Dr. Gallagher has produced a step-by-step how-to guide on conducting an anesthesia simulation. Topics include which equipment to use as well as suggestions for simulation scenarios that will help train your staff with a theoretical basis for handling even the most unexpected complications. This simulation guide with video clips helps to close the gaps that may result when abnormal situations are not recognized quickly enough or the response to them is haphazard and slow. The result is a highly effective, enjoyable, and affordable tool on this increasingly important way to ensure resources are being managed effectively. Concise and complete guide to all the issues relevant to anesthesia simulation Rich in clinical scenarios and models Experiences from state-of-the-art simulation center Employs latest CPR and other practice guidelines

This book presents the full spectrum of vascular diagnostic techniques and vascular and non-vascular interventional procedures performed today. Provides a section on vascular diagnosis and intervention that details each of the major vascular systems and a non-vascular interventional section that covers the main interventional techniques in current use. Each chapter features an easy-to-follow outline of chapter table of contents, normal and variant anatomy, diagnostic entities and interventional procedures. Contains over 1100 helpful illustrations!

Stay on top of the latest scientific and therapeutic advances with the new edition of Leibel and Phillips Textbook of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Theodore L. Phillips, in collaboration with two new authors, Drs. Richard Hoppe and Mack Roach, offers a multidisciplinary look at the presentation of uniform treatment philosophies for cancer patients emphasizing the "treat for cure" philosophy. You can also explore the implementation of new imaging techniques to locate and treat tumors, new molecularly targeted therapies, and new types of treatment delivery. Supplement your reading with online access to the complete contents of the book, a downloadable image library, and more at expertconsult.com. Gather step-by-step techniques for assessing and implementing radiotherapeutic options with this comprehensive, full-color, clinically oriented text. Review the basic principles behind the selection and application of radiation as a treatment modality, including radiobiology, radiation physics, immobilization and simulation, high dose rate, and more. Use new imaging techniques to anatomically locate tumors before and during treatment. Apply multidisciplinary treatments with advice from experts in medical, surgical, and radiation oncology. Explore new treatment options such as proton therapy, which can facilitate precise tumor-targeting and reduce damage to healthy tissue and organs. Stay on the edge of technology with new chapters on IGRT, DNA damage and repair, and molecularly targeted therapies.

"This book is excellent in its coverage of neurobiological underpinnings through perception, measurement, and communication...a great resource for researchers and clinicians." Score: 94, 4 stars. --Doody's Medical Reviews "This is an expertly constructed volume, due mainly to an expert composition of authors forthe individual chapters. Every chapter is like opening a door to a different laboratory, eachexamining a unique corner of the tactile research universe."--PsycCRITIQUES "...a solid, authoritative resource."--New Hampshire Nurses Association Touch has received increased attention over the last few decades, with growing recognition of its profound import to all facets of life. The Handbook of Touch is the first authoritative, state-of-the-art resource for scientists, scholars, and students interested in the neurobehavioral foundations of touch and its many applications. This text provides an in-depth overview of the conceptual and empirical scope of the field. Chapters are written by a cadre of internationally known experts on touch, representing an expansive breadth of knowledge from behavioral, health, and neuroscience disciplines. Key Features: Integrates knowledge regarding the neurobiology of touch, covering the spectrum from skin physiology and somatosensory pathways to touch-related genes and proteins Synthesizes research about the neural processing and perception of touch Describes diverse methods for measuring touch behavior and human response to touch Discusses the role of touch in social communication, along with the influence of context and culture Presents cutting edge research that links touch to brain organization and plasticity, human development, and varied dimensions of health

"Neuropsychological Rehabilitation provides useful introductory material and backgroundinformation on various disorders, assessments, and rehabilitative interventions for adult andgeriatric populations...This book is essential for psychologists or clinical neuropsychologists who have a stronginterest in understanding the current medical aspects of neuropsychological rehabilitation."--PsycCRITIQUES This volume disseminates knowledge about the most advanced practices and techniques in the rehabilitation of neuropsychological deficits, covering both specific neuropsychological domains and approaches in neurorehabilitation. It adheres to the philosophy that it is not enough to identify a deficit or diagnose a disease unless doing so helps to direct rehabilitation efforts to improve function. Intended to advance clinical skills, the book goes beyond surface diagnostic practice to foster rehabilitative efforts in response to residual deficits and disease. The volume begins by addressing the foundations of neuropsychology in rehabilitation and discussing, in depth, domain-specific rehabilitation practices, with a focus on functioning. This is followed by a discussion of supplemental applications and practices that go beyond function-specific methodology including neuroimaging and pharmacological agents. Also covered is the role of system/environmental manipulation and transitioning strategies. The final section attends to those presentations/groupings most commonly seen in rehabilitation practice for which there is no prototypical form. Key Features: Presents in depth the most advanced clinical applications for neuropsychological rehabilitation Covers neuropsychological rehabilitation in terms of specific cognitive domains (attention, language, memory) and approaches to and practices in neurorehabilitation (neuroimaging, vocational rehabilitation, pharmacological rehabilitation) Written by the foremost scholars in the field